I Don't Care
by celtics534
Summary: Harry was at a party he didn't wanna be at. The only thought on his mind whether or not he could sneak out the back... at least that was until a gorgeous redhead joined his table. Muggle AU


**TheDistantDusk and gryffindormischief were kind enough to edit this for me! A Muggle AU where Harry and Ginny have never really met. Based on the song I Don't Care by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber. Written for the SIYE "First Time" Challenge (This being the first time they met) **

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"Come on, mate!" Seamus yelled over the chest-pounding music. "Stop being such a spanner."

Harry glared at his Irish friend. "I told you I would come with you, not that I would enjoy myself."

"But sitting in a corner is so -" Seamus made an obscure gesture with his hands.

"So '_Harry_'?" Harry supplied, giving his friend a sideways smile. He still couldn't understand why Seamus had begged him to go to this damn party. Not once had Harry expressed any interest in going to a house party hosted by Dean (Seamus' old school mate). Harry hated loud noises and really wasn't that fond of people, which was why he always let Seamus lead any interviews they conducted during investigations.

Seamus just laughed, thumping Harry's shoulder with his wide hand. "That's right." Across the room, a chant started as Dean chugged down his pint. Without a second glance at Harry, Seamus was gone, joining in the shout.

Harry felt himself relax. This was what he preferred when forced to be at a party - being able to keep to himself. It wasn't that he hated _everyone..._no, he just didn't _fit in_ with any of these people. He'd rather nurse his drink, hope that Seamus forgot he was here, and try to sneak out the back door rather than go anywhere near what they were calling a _dance floor_.

"Ah, I found my fellow party hater." A voice spoke somewhere to his left. Harry turned to see an incredibly attractive redhead. He'd always had a thing for redheads, but this woman - If Harry had been a cartoon character, his jaw would be on the floor.

The woman smiled at him, and even in the horrible blue and green lighting, Harry could see an adorable dimple near a cluster of freckles.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, gesturing to the empty armchair beside him.

"Uh -" Harry mentally slapped himself. "Yeah, of course."

The redhead sat down, taking a minute to settle herself before leaning forward and holding out her hand. "I'm Ginny."

Harry shook it, surprised by the strong grip and calluses. "Harry."

Ginny's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Harry, like Harry Potter?"

_Here we go_, Harry internally groaned. People always looked at him differently once they knew his name. The fact that his parents had died taking down Britain's most notorious serial killer since Jack the Ripper was not something he wanted to be known for. Everyone knew about the son of Lily and James Potter, who had been left an orphan because of Tom Riddle.

"You and Ron had that midnight duel with Malfoy." Ginny laughed. "Ron came home during the winter holidays and told me that story!"

It took Harry a moment to realize what she'd said. "That stor - yeah!" Harry felt his lips curve into a smile for the first time that night. "Yeah. It was great. We had fake swords that Ron threw aside to punch Malfoy in the nose. But how do you -" It was like a lightbulb went off as he connected the dots. "Ginny Weasley...as in Ron's little sister?"

"Not my preferred title." Ginny let out a little laugh. "But it's true. Ron is my older brother."

Harry had heard stories about Ron's annoying little sister for years. She and her brother, Percy, had been accepted into a prestigious independent school while Ron the rest of the Weasley brothers had been in the same district as Harry. But surely this couldn't be the "pain in the arse" sister. She seemed too…

"I feel like I already know you." Ginny took a sip from her glass. "Between Ron and the twins. You're famous!"

After only an hour of conversation, Harry felt Ginny was the most incredible person in the world. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also kind, considerate, and funny.

As the night turned into the early morning, Harry was unable to look away from her lips as she told amazing stories, wanting nothing more than to kiss them. He was never like this. When it came to women, he tended to admire from afar until he plucked up the nerve to give it a go and pitifully flirt with them. He was awkward on a good day, especially when it came to a beautiful woman.

With Ginny, he was _still _awkward... but there were none of his normal flustered ramblings. He was talking with her smoothly, which in his book was close to a miracle. Because with a girl like Ginny Weasley, he should be on the floor in a floundering puddle. But Ginny… she was just so _real_. No one else in this damn house felt like that. Hell, he could count the number of people who felt like this on one hand.

"So, what did you do?" Harry had his face close to Ginny's under the pretense of hearing her, but really he was just enjoying what he assumed was her perfume. It was some sort of flower that he couldn't name, but God, it was one of the best things he'd ever smelled.

Ginny grinned as she shrugged nonchalantly. "I had to jump."

"So you just jumped off a cliff? Not even knowing how deep the water was?"

"It was that or be known as the team chicken."

Harry shook his head, his smile reflecting hers. "And you couldn't have that."

"That's right." Ginny laughed. "I knew they wouldn't kill their new star striker." She shrugged with a proud smirk on her lips.

"I would love to give cliff diving a go," Harry mused, taking a swig from his bottle.

Ginny gave him an appraising look. "I could take you, see if you've got the bollocks to jump."

"There are other ways for you to check that." The words were out of Harry's mouth before his brain could form a roadblock. "I - I mean." He started to splutter, something he'd impressively avoided up to that point. _Fuck, that is not something you say to a mate's sister, Harry!_

Instead of dumping her drink over his head, though, Ginny gave him a coy smile. "I'd be more than happy to conduct multiple _tests,_ if you're up for it."

Harry's brain short-circuited. He had no idea what was happening or where to go from there. He knew his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn't seem to get his body to listen to any instructions.

Ginny laughed."But there are some first _steps _that need to be completed before we can test out my hypothesis."

"Which," Harry cleared his throat, "Which steps are these?"

"Oh, you know." Ginny shrugged. "Dinner one night. Movie another. I'm not the kind of girl who skips the basics."

"Dinner." Harry let the word roll his tongue as if it was the first time he'd ever said it. "Dinner. Yeah - um - are you free tomorrow night?"

Ginny beamed at him. "Now I'm not."

Harry honestly couldn't believe his own luck. Here was an incredible woman who wanted to go out with him, and not just for his name. "Great. I can pick you up at seven?"

"Seven sounds perfect." Ginny pointed to his phone that had been sitting in front of him on the coffee table. "Can you unlock that?"

He did as he was told. Once the home page glared brightly at him, Ginny took the phone and started clicking buttons. After a minute she handed it back to him, with the screen displaying her contact information.

"Now." She grabbed his beer and downed the remaining drink. "Shall we dance?"

Harry's brain was still lost in another universe (which might have explained his answer), but he managed to say, "Hell yes!"

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"I don't care." Seamus laughed, taking another large gulp from his cup. "Emma Watson is _fit_ as fuck. And that's just what I'd want to do if I'd meet her. She'd be the best shag of my life."

Harry snorted, which he could barely hear over the deafening music blaring throughout Dean's house. Somehow, Seamus had convinced Harry to come to another party. It was all a blur in his mind how he agreed, but his girlfriend had said she would come too. Inexplicably, knowing Ginny was coming made everything better for Harry. Just the thought of Ginny coming to his rescue lessened the knots of anxiety in his stomach.

Before Harry could give his mates a cheeky response, arms wrapped around his shoulders and warm breath surrounded his left ear. "Hello, luv."

Harry twisted his neck to find himself enveloped in red hair. "Hello, Gin."

Ginny pressed a kiss to his lips. "Come with me to get a drink?"

Without hesitation, Harry stood up. Seamus made a pointed gesture. "There he goes, lads! Leaving us to be with a bird."

Harry grinned at his mates. "She's my own Emma Watson, can you blame me?"

"She's the best shag of your life?" Seamus asked with glee. Ron, however, groaned.

"I don't want to know, Harry." Ron pointed his bottle at Harry. "I'm fine with you dating my sister, but I don't want to know anything."

Harry didn't speak, he just winked at Seamus who laughed and waved him away. "Don't keep her waiting then!"

It took Harry a moment to make it through the crowd. His eyes were hyper-focused on Ginny's long red hair. Finally, he reached her. She was pouring punch into a plastic cup. Harry bound his arms around her waist, letting his lips fall onto her neck.

Ginny tilted her head, allowing him better access. "If you keep this up, we won't stay for our agreed hour."

Harry smiled into her skin. The previous night, while laying in his bed after an hour of _not talking_, Harry had complained about being stuck at parties for too long. Ginny had laughed and said they would only stick around for a few hours. Harry had then used some of his individualized negotiation tactics he saved only for her. In the end, he was able to shave three hours from their allotted party time _and_ was able to have another hour of _silence_.

"Works by me." Harry ran his tongue over a small cluster of freckles by her ear.

Ginny's breath hitched. "I'd hate to leave without saying hello to everyone" She put her freshly filled cup down on the table and twisted in his arms. Her mouth connected with his, and just like that, the loud music and people faded into nothing. The only thing that mattered was the way her fingers played with his messy waves and how her tongue worked with his.

"Then again." Ginny pulled back, a coy smile on her slightly swollen lips. "I could make rounds and be ready to leave in fifteen."

Harry kissed her again. He couldn't believe that only a year ago she'd found him skulking in the corner of this very room, hating everything and everyone. She made him feel like he could deal with anything, all of the crowds, any bad nights that happened.

Harry shifted his attention from her mouth, up her jaw, stopping beside that cluster of freckles again. "Shall we dance, first?"

Ginny let out a low laugh."Hell yeah."


End file.
